Chairman and director seeking to buy troubled Bray Wanderers

Bray Wanderers chairman, Denis O'Connor and fellow director, Kieran Kelly, are leading an attempt to buy the financially troubled League of Ireland club from its owners.

The club has been languishing close to the bottom of the league this year and has been dogged by financial and organisational problems that resulted in previous manager Alan Mathews resigning earlier this year.

Mr O’Connor wrote to shareholders on June 17th saying he and “other investors” are prepared to buy them out for €0.005 –half a cent a share – and they are seeking a response to the offer within seven days.

Directors

The chairman signed the letter on behalf of another company,

Milway Dawn

Ltd, of which he and fellow Bray Wanderers board member Kieran Kelly are directors.

The letter states that he and the other investors are committed to “providing the financial and supporting structures to ensure that the company can remain in business on an ongoing basis and to deal with the legacy debt and borrowings that exist”.

He stresses that the same offer is being made to all shareholders and that there is no other consideration being paid to any backer. Bray Wanderers Ltd’s auditors raised concerns about its ability to continue as a going concern in its most recent accounts, which cover 2013.

Net liabilities

The company lost almost €84,000 that year and had net liabilities of €202,898.

Its books showed that the business had accumulated losses of €1 million.

Late last year its main sponsors, the McGettigan family, owners of a number of hotels including the Royal in Bray and the Bonnington in Dubai, were set to come on board as shareholders.

However, that deal did not go ahead.

Mr O’Connor has said in public that he favours joining forces with schoolboy and junior club, Ardmore Rovers, to develop a new stadium on a new site and leaving Wanderers’ existing home, Carlisle Grounds.

The Millway offer is likely to spark speculation that the Carlisle Grounds could be targeted for development.

Last April, Mr Mathews and his management staff resigned en-masse from the club citing a complete breakdown in communication with the board. He had taken over just 15 months earlier.

Following the resignation, the board guaranteed publicly that players and employees would be paid.

It subsequently hired Trevor Croly, an experienced League of Ireland manager.

Mr O’Connor’s letter opens by pointing out that since taking the chairmanship last year, he has been unable to secure new investment or deal with the company’s legacy debt.

“Unfortunately we have had problems in getting the level of financial backing needed to secure the future,” he says.

Mr O’Connor was not available to comment yesterday.